The present invention relates generally to musical equipment provided with a tone processing module for performing some kind of processing on input tone data such as an electronic musical instrument provided with an arpeggiator (arpeggio generator), and a program for such musical equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for setting connections of the tone processing module.
Heretofore, there have been known electronic musical instruments provided with an arpeggiator that automatically generates arpeggio performance tones in response to depressing operations of one or more keys on a keyboard. In a case where such an electronic musical instrument is used by being connected to external equipment, a user can select whether arpeggio performance tones automatically generated in response to key depressing operations should be output to the external equipment or not. According to the disclosure in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. HEI-10-274985 (hereinafter referred to as “Patent Literature 1”) for example, there is a need to make settings for two switches: a first switch for selecting, as input to an arpeggiator, either of performance information corresponding to key depression and performance information input from external equipment; and a second switch for selecting, as output to the external equipment, either of arpeggio performance information output from the arpeggiator and performance information having not being passed through (i.e., input to and processed by) the arpeggiator.
Further, it is also known in the art that, in a music production environment where external equipment, such as a personal computer, is connected to an electronic musical instrument, various functions are implemented by communication (transmission and reception) of various data between the electronic musical instrument and the external equipment. Such various functions include: recording performance information, output from the electronic musical instrument, into the external equipment; and reproducing (playing back) performance information, recorded in the external equipment, by the electronic musical instrument. For example, as one recording method for recording an arpeggio performance, corresponding to a performance executed on the electronic musical instrument, into the external equipment in the music production environment, there has been known a recording method (hereinafter “recording method (1)”) in which arpeggio performance information generated or created by the arpeggiator in response to keyboard operation is recorded into the external equipment. According to such recording method (1), it is necessary, at the time of the recording, that input from the external equipment be set OFF (i.e., set to an OFF state) in the electronic musical instrument to thereby make a setting such that arpeggio performance information currently recorded into the external equipment does not return to the electronic musical instrument. Further, at the time of reproduction of the arpeggio performance information recorded in the external equipment, it is necessary that the arpeggiator be turned off (deactivated) so that the arpeggio performance information recorded in the external equipment is input to and reproduced by the electronic musical instrument without being passed through the arpeggiator. Namely, in the electronic musical instrument, the ON/OFF setting of the arpeggiator and the external input setting need to be changed so as to differ between the time when the recording is to be performed and the time when the reproduction is to be performed.
As another recording method for recording an arpeggio performance in the music production environment, there has been known a recording method (hereinafter “recording method (2)”) in which performance information having not been passed through the arpeggiator is recorded into the external equipment and in which, at the time of reproduction of the recorded performance information, the recorded performance information is input to the electronic musical instrument and then reproduced after being passed through the arpeggiator. In order to appropriately use aforementioned recording method (1) and recording method (2) depending on the cases, it is necessary to combine various settings, such as settings of input to the arpeggiator and output from the arpeggiator, external output setting, external input setting and ON/OFF setting of the arpeggiator.
Further, in the music production environment where external equipment, such as a personal computer, is connected to an electronic musical instrument, it is necessary to differentiate various settings between a case where the electronic musical instrument is used connected to the personal computer and a case where the electronic musical instrument is used disconnected from the personal computer.
Namely, in the music production environment where external equipment, such as a personal computer, is connected to an electronic musical instrument, it is necessary to make appropriate settings depending on various scenes of use. Further, mechanisms of such settings of the electronic musical instrument are very complicated and difficult for a user to follow.
Above-identified Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a technique for shifting the output destination of a tone processing module depending on scenes of use in a digital audio mixer which includes a plurality of channels and in which an effecter can be inserted in any one or more of the channels. According to the disclosure of Patent Literature 1, an interlock mode can be set, and when a particular effecter is selected as an object to be edited while the interlock mode is ON, an audio signal of the channel having the effecter inserted therein is output from a monitor output.